Pop-up Push Lid

ABSTRACT

A conventional pop-up latch mechanism to which a second rotating tongue that will disengage the main latch is used in combination. This tongue is moved in place by pressing on the lid a similar way as to close it. It allows for the design team to have a much wider freedom of designing the closure, without the need to have an area dedicated for the pop-up activation device, reducing mold complexity and cost at the same time. The lid is open by a very simple push down motion. It also requires the user to reach a certain amount of force to open it avoiding accidental opening in case the closure fall on the ground. A slightly recessed lid leads the user to push on the lid.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/757,368, entitled “Pop-up Push Lid”, filed on 28 Jan. 2013. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to container lids. More specifically, the present invention relates to a closure that is opened by pushing on the lid itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pop-up closure are usually made with a lid held into place by a latch, this latter is activated by a button. In a lot of case, the button might not be explicit enough and the end-user will use a very natural movement to open the lid, he will try to push on the lid.

Pop-up closures work correctly if the users is used to button activated product. It requires the user to think and understand that the button area is actually a button which might not be obvious depending on the product realization. Some use TPE or soft rubber like material, which in first contact might not lead the user to understand that the area is meant to be pushed down in order to release a latch.

Compared to button activated, the present invention uses a much more human and natural approach. The present invention works on the user reaction and the simplicity of the product. The design is done in a way with a slightly recess lid so that it leads the user to push on the lid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to give a closure the ability to be opened with the same natural motion used to close it, you push it to close, you push it again to open it.

The present invention is based on a conventional latch mechanism to which the inventors have added a second rotating tongue that will disengage the main latch. This tongue is moved in place by pressing on the lid a similar way as to close it. It allows for the design team to have a much wider freedom of designing the closure, without the need to have an area dedicated for the pop-up activation device, reducing mold complexity and cost at the same time.

The present invention allows the lid to be open by a very simple push down motion. It also requires the user to reach a certain amount of force to open it avoiding accidental opening in case the closure fall on the ground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the pop-up push lid container of the present invention in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the pop-up push lid container of the present invention in an open position;

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing a closer view of the tongue mechanism, from the top of the tub;

FIG. 4 is a section view of the tub when the pop-up lid is in a closed position;

FIG. 5 illustrates the lid's latch being pushed further down;

FIG. 6 illustrates the lid's latch pulling the tongue up with the tongue's slide surface engaging with the cover's retaining lip area;

FIG. 7 illustrates where the lid's latch engagement with the tongue will break as it is not engaged enough to permanently catch on this latch, the force of the spring will overcome the engagement and release the lid; and

FIGS. 8-9 illustrate simulation results confirming the inventors design, where that the force applied on the lid to achieve a 0.8 displacement is around 10 N.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the invention of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it is understood that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques known to one of ordinary skill in the art have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the invention. Referring to the figures, it is possible to see the various major elements constituting the apparatus of the present invention.

The purpose of the present invention is to give a closure the ability to be opened with the same natural motion used to close it, you push it to close, you push it again to open it.

The present invention is based on a conventional latch 16 mechanism to which the inventors have added a second rotating tongue 19 that will disengage the main latch 16. This tongue 19 is moved in place by pressing on the lid 10 a similar way as to close it. It allows for the design team to have a much wider freedom of designing the closure, without the need to have an area dedicated for the pop-up activation device, reducing mold complexity and cost at the same time.

The present invention allows the lid 10 to be open by a very simple push down motion. It also requires the user to reach a certain amount of force to open it avoiding accidental opening in case the closure fall on the ground.

Compared to button activated, the present invention uses a much more human and natural approach. The present invention works on the user reaction and the simplicity of the product. The design is done in a way with a slightly recess lid 10 so that it leads the user to push on the lid 10.

The present invention is composed of one lid 10 and a base 12, attached together by means of one or several living hinge or other fastening method. The lid 10 and base 12 can be obtained through one or several phase of plastic injection molding. A spring 13 is present in order to store energy while the lid 10 is closed. A disengaging tongue 19 is connected to the base 12 near the latch 16 mechanism. It can be connected to the base 12 with a living hinge or other fastening method.

The lid 10 is assembled to a cover 11 through a living hinge or other fastening method, the lid 10 can then pivot around an axis, the base 12 has a reach-in area 14. When the lid 10 is closed, it should cover 11 a maximum of the reach-in area 14 in order to provide a good moist sealing. The tongue 19 is articulated around the base 12 and close to the latch 16 so that the extremity with the disengaging feature is beneath the main latch 16 mechanism.

When the lid 10 is open, the user close it by simply pushing on it until he hears a click meaning that the latch 16 has engaged. In the same time, the lid 10 will fold a spring 13 to store energy. The lid 10 is closed. When the user wants to open the lid 10, he simply push the lid 10 further down, the latch 16 will engage with the disengaging feature of the tongue 19, the user should hear a click meaning that it has engaged. The user release the push force on the lid 10 and the spring 13 will start to push on the lid 10, while the latch 16 is going up, it will hit the main latch retaining feature on the base 12 but cannot engage with it as it is obstructed by the disengaging feature of the tongue 19. The lid 10 will then continue its opening course, the disengaging feature is design such that the spring force is enough to disengage the tongue 19 retaining feature, the lid 10 can now fully pop open.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-2, the lid 10, base 12 and the tongue 19 with its disengaging feature, the reach-in area 14, the main retaining feature and the spring 13 are shown. The user pushes on the lid 10 to close it on the base 12, and pushes it again to pop it open.

FIG. 2 illustrates a moist toilet tissue tub, comprised of: a base 12; a cover 11; a reach-in area 14; a front cover 11 latch for the user to open the cover 11 and refill the tub; a fastening feature that the lid 10 latch hook on to keep the lid 10 closed; a spring 13 to accumulate elastic energy in order to move the lid 10; a the lid 10 articulated with the cover 11.

Now referring to FIG. 3, a closer view to the tongue 19 mechanism, from the top of the tub is shown. The latch retaining lip 18 is integrated to the cover 11 and acts as a main fastening feature to hold the lid 10 when closed. The tongue 19 is located by through holes 20.

FIG. 4 is a section view of the tub when the pop-up lid 10 is in a closed position and the latch is engaged 21. The tongue 19 is articulated around a living hinge opposed to the retaining lip 18, the tongue 19 acts as a disengaging feature to disengage the lid latch 17 from the latch retaining lip 18. When closed, the spring 13 is under load, the lid latch 17 is engaged with the retaining lip 18, the movement of the lid latch 17 will push the tongue 19 down which will stop against the tongue stop 23. The tongue 19 will move down enough so that it creates enough clearance for the lid latch 17 to engage correctly with the retaining lip 18. The tongue 19 is stopped by the tongue stop 23, these prevent the tongue 19 from rotating any further and being damaged.

Now referring to FIG. 5, as the lid 10 is pushed down, it will deform and the lid 10 will be able to slide down the tongue's slide surface, passed that, the latch will engage with the tongue's retaining lip 22. The tongue's retaining lip 22 is made such a way that it's enough to engage and as the lid 10 move back up (in this embodiment of the present invention, the engagement is 0.2 mm, from empirical data, and it has been verified through experimentation and testing that the spring force is enough to overcome such a small engagement). In FIG. 6, the lid's latch pulling the tongue 19 up with the tongue's slide surface engaging with the cover's retaining lip 18 area is illustrated.

FIG. 7 illustrates where the lid's latch engagement with the tongue 19 will break as it is not engaged enough to permanently catch on this latch, the force of the spring 13 will overcome the engagement and release the lid 10. e is the main clip engagement, typically 0.7 mm. Element e′ is the tongue retaining engagement, typically 0.2 mm. Element d is the extra stroke necessary for the latch to engage with the retaining clip, typically 0.7. The clearance between the lid 10 and the cover 11 is 1+d, in our simulation, we found out that if the lid 10 is too closed to the cover 11, both will deform at the same time when pushing down the lid 10, thus, the latch will never be able to engage with the tongue retaining feature 15. The tongue 19 length l needs to be long enough to allow for a close to vertical motion of the tongue retaining engagement. In the current design, a length of 6.5 mm is used. Theta is the angle between the tongue 19 and the main fastening feature. In the close position, the tongue 19 is angled in a way that the lower face of the latch is in contact with the sliding face of the tongue 19 and in the same time, the latch is engaged properly with the main clip, the tongue stop 23 are angled accordingly in order to maintain these requirements.

In the current example theta=10 degrees and the calculated horizontal displacement of the retaining lip 18 is solved by: displacement=1-1*cos (theta)=6.5-6.5*cos(10) which is closed to 0.10 mm, the current design minimizes the length l, and angle theta, while maintaining a vertical displacement (stroke) d at around 0.8 which is what a user is expected to deform the lid 10 in order to activate the opening of the lid 10. Furthermore, on the lid 10 side, it is expected for the inventors to be able to design a lid 10 so that the force applied on the lid 10 to achieve a 0.8 displacement is around 10 N.

FIGS. 8-9 illustrate simulation results confirming the inventors design, where that the force applied on the lid 10 to achieve a 0.8 displacement is around 10 N. In the simulation for which the results and FIGS. 8-9 were generated, a 10 N force is applied in the general middle area of the lid 10, this leads to that area to deform 5 mm down as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 9 clearly illustrates that the latch area deforms by around −1.5 mm whereas the main retaining lip 18 deforms by −0.5 mm which leads to an overall deformation of 1 mm, more than the stroke required to activate the opening.

The present invention will be made out of plastic in an injection molding process.

Thus, it is appreciated that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variation in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the above description are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Furthermore, other areas of art may benefit from this method and adjustments to the design are anticipated. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A pop-up push lid device comprising at least: a base; a cover or lid; the lid and a base, attached together by means of one or several living hinges; a reach-in area; a front cover latch for the user to open the cover and refill the tub; a fastening feature that the lid latch hooks on to keep the lid closed; a disengaging tongue is connected to the base near the latch mechanism of the fastening feature; a spring to accumulate elastic energy in order to move the lid; and wherein, the lid articulates with the cover.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the lid and base can be obtain through one or several phase of plastic injection molding.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the disengaging tongue is connected to the base with a living hinge or other fastening method.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the lid is assembled to a cover through a living hinge or other fastening method; the lid pivots around an axis; and the base has a reach-in area.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein when the lid is closed, it should cover a maximum of the reach-in area in order to provide a good moist sealing.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the tongue is articulated around the base and close to the latch so that the extremity with the disengaging feature is beneath the main latch mechanism.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein when the lid is open, simply pushing on it until a click latch has engaged; in the same time, the lid will fold a spring to store energy.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein to open the lid, push the lid further down; the latch will engage with the disengaging feature of the tongue; release the push force on the lid; the spring will start to push on the lid; while the latch is going up, it will hit the main latch retaining feature on the base but cannot engage with it as it is obstructed by the disengaging feature of the tongue; the lid will then continue its opening course; the disengaging feature is design such that the spring force is enough to disengage the tongue retaining feature, the lid can now fully pop open.
 9. A pop-up push lid apparatus comprising a lid; a base; a spring; the lid and based attached together by a conventional latch mechanism; and a second rotating tongue that will disengage the main latch.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tongue is moved in place by pressing on the lid in a similar way as to close it.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the lid opens by a push down motion when a certain amount of force to open it is applied.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the lid is recessed lid so that it leads the user to push on the lid.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tongue is articulated around the base and close to the latch so that the extremity with the disengaging feature is beneath the main latch mechanism.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the latch will engage with the disengaging feature of the tongue; the spring will start to push on the lid, while the latch is going up; the spring will hit the main latch retaining feature on the base but cannot engage with it as it is obstructed by the disengaging feature of the tongue; the lid will then continue its opening course; the spring force is enough to disengage the tongue retaining feature; and the lid can now fully pop open. 